


So, you can’t see either?

by R_4_L



Category: Final Fantasy XV, Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Canon deaths, Feeling of inadequacy, Injury Recovery, Major Character Injury, Mentions FMA chacacters, canon sass, mentions noctis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-02
Updated: 2020-04-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23452075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/R_4_L/pseuds/R_4_L
Summary: Post FFXV Gladio, Ignis and Prompto are together again for a hunt when they stumble across a strange pair in a dungeon and lend a hand.  Mustang and Hawkeye were between floors on their way to the fight agains Father when they were sucked into this strange world.  Now the five of them are trying to figure things out.
Kudos: 9





	So, you can’t see either?

**Author's Note:**

> I was playing CAH with some friends online and while I can’t remember the exact card combination I want to say that the black card had something to do with Ignis and his loss of eyesight there was a white card about Roy Mustang, and of course comments were made and a story was born. Much much much longer then I anticipated. I can however see Mustang looking up to Ignis for not giving up and asking for tips while Prompto would be kicking himself for not thinking about directing Iggy the way Riza does.

“Why are dungeons dark and damp and spooky?” Prompto’s whine was barely above a whisper but it still seemed to echo down the tunnels.

“Uh, because it’s a dungeon?” There were times that Gladio wondered if Prompto really just didn’t think before his spoke or if he was that stupid.

“Quiet you two.” Ignis hissed. Since loosing his sight the advisor had a much better handle on his other senses. The two quieted. 

Footsteps echoed and when Gladio would have branched to the left, Ignis guided them to the right. Sounds of fighting and flashes of light were making there way down the tunnel.

“What the hell are these things?” The man’s voice was rough but held tones of command and calm.

“I don’t know sir, but they’re dying easily enough,” the gunshots ricocheting off the rock almost hid the fact that the second person was a female.

“Hunters?” Gladio didn’t recognize the voices but he wasn’t arrogant enough to think he knew all the hunters out there.

“Careful,” Ignis warned, “their accents. I don’t recognize them.”

“Damn it Colonel, to your left.” She sounded more put out then worried.

Fire flared out of the tunnel and would have fried them all if Prompto had’t pushed them to the ground. 

“Hawkeye?” It was the first sound of concern that crept into the commanding voice. “HAWKEYE!?”

It didn’t matter if they were foreigners or not Gladio, Iggy and Prompto had promised Noctis that they would look after this world while he was trying to fight elsewhere. They couldn’t sit back while it seemed like someone was in trouble. The trio burst into the cavern, Prompto with his gun out, Iggy with daggers at the ready, and Gladio with his great sword ready to swing.

The way the goblins swarmed the sides concerned Gladio. It meant a Ronin was near. The man standing in the middle was of average height with dark hair and pale skin, he wore a bright blue military looking uniform that was completely foreign to Gladio. He held his gloved hands out like he was ready to direct an attack. There was no weapon at all. On the ground near his feet but just out of reach, was a blonde woman in dark pants and pale button up. 

“By the Six, Prompto she’s hurt.” Gladio needn’t have worried, their hyper blonde was already on the move a potion in his hand and scrambling in to reach the fallen woman.

The solid thunk of Iggy’s daggers proved yet again that blindness wasn’t going to hinder his aim in destroying these creatures.

“Duck,” Gladio didn’t know who the man was, but he needed to move now. He started to swing his sword above his head towards the goblins behind the stranger when he realized the man hadn’t moved.

“Colonel down,” the woman’s voice was weak but it did what Gladio’s warning failed to. The man in blue was on the ground and Gladio’s sword whirled above him to turn the goblins in to vapor.

“Three friendlies,” The blonde reached out to hold the other man’s ankle. “Run the exterior thirty feet out, fifty foot radius, twenty degree roof angle.”

“Shh,” Prompto pulled out a bottle of water as he helped the woman sit, “let the potion work, we’ve got you.”

Iggy let loose a Blizzara spell, freezing the area and moved to slam against Gladio’s back, “Ronin coming.” 

The man in blue stood up again and held his hand in front of him just as the Ronin appeared. Gladio had a minute to wish he knew what the man thought it was doing.

Snap.

Fire exploded around the outside of the room, it engulfed everything. The scream of the goblins enmass as they vaporized was something the Crownsguard trio hadn’t heard before. Even the Ronin paused in his attack, but it would take more then fire to take him down.

Iggy let his daggers fly as Prompto unloaded a clip into the man as he pulled the blonde to their feet and out of the way. “Fuck, he needs to move,” Prompto’s comment was under his breathe but the blonde heard him. 

“The Colonel can’t see.”

Prompto meet her eyes and gave a nod before reloading. “The other guy is blind as well.” He watched the way she dove to cover her partners back, giving him coordinates and directions to set off his flames.

The fight was uncoordinated but they got the job done. “Alright, gentleman and lady, let’s retire to the campground for the night.” Ignis as formal as ever lead the way, out of the dungeon. 

Once out in the open, Gladio stretched his arms above his head. “Why is it that I always feel so cramped inside those damn dungeons no matter how much room we have to move?”

“Ah, is the itty bitty dungeon too much for you big guy?” Prompto danced away as Gladio took a swing at him.

The moment of comradery between the tattooed giant and the small blonde gave Hawkeye the time she needed to brief Mustang on what their surroundings were like. She didn’t have enough time to describe who they were with, but she would make sure to remedy that when they had a minute.

“Colonel it appears that we’re on a large plain. It has numerous rocky outcropping, trees and shrubs. It’s not as green as Amestris but not as desert like as Ishval. It looks to be night, although the moon is almost full. I really don’t know where we are sir.” She put the Mustang’s hand on her shoulder as she had back in Central to help guide him.

“I apologize, for the actions of my comrades,” Ignis stood beside the two strangers, “you are new to hunting, are you not?”

“Perhaps the better statement is that we are new to hunting those types of creatures.” 

“I’m Ignis Scientia, my tattooed friend there is Gladiolus Amicitia and the blonde is Prompto Argentum. We’ve been hunting daemons non-stop since the darkness fell.”

“The darkness? I’m Colonel Roy Mustang and this Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye of the Amestrian State military.”

“What the Six is the Amestrian State military?” Prompto’s comment brought the elephant in the room to the forefront.

“Prompto, I think a bigger problem at the moment is getting to a Haven to rest and recuperate for a couple of hours before we need to do this all over again. Gladio, I believe Palmaugh Haven is closest to us at the moment.”

“Iggy, they’ll both need lights.” Prompto handed his extra light to Ignis, placing it directly in his hand. “I’ll take the rear.” Prompto fell to the back while Gladio automatically stepped forward to lead the way. 

“If you two will stay in the middle with me, keep Gladio’s light in sight. Here are some chest harnesses with lights, they will guide your way while still keeping your hands free. Ma’am make sure you keep your gun handy, the only friend that will approach us is another actual human.” Ignis held out Prompto’s extra light and one that he pulled from his own pack. “We’ll talk when we get somewhere safe. I’m sure there are things that we need to clarify on both side. If we’re going too fast for you let us know.”

The group ran across the land at a fairly steady pace. They dodged trees and daemons.

“Shit,” Riza couldn’t believe it. The rocks were glowing with symbols. They didn’t look like anything she had ever seen Mustang or the Elric brothers produce. Walking to the center of the flat outcrop she felt the Colonel shudder. Camp gear was already set out. As soon as Prompto walked across the outer ring weapons were holstered and put away. She watched as the three men went to work. The big man checked out the tent before starting a fire. The one who had run beside them went to the camp kitchen with the blonde who had started pulling out what looked to be vegetables from a satchel. Naming them as he placed them on the board.

Camp chairs around the fire and a bowl of stew in their hands Roy was glad that he had Riza by his side. “Thank you for sharing your provisions and helping us out. The meal was real tasty. I think it’s safe to assume that we are the interlopers here in this place. According to the Lieutenant, the topography doesn’t resemble anything that we are familiar with.”

“You said that you were with the Amestrian State military. Where is Amestria?”

“Amestris, is small country of five states that is bordered by Drachma in the north, Creta to the southwest, Aerugo to the south and Xing to the east past the desert the used to be Xerxes.” Mustang tried to simplify the politics, “right now, or should I say, when we left Drachma was the only nation that we had an uneasy peace with. Amestris was dealing with some internal issues when we were dropped here.”

“Let’s assume that the time line remains the same even it you may have come to a land that is not your own.” Ignis held out his cup as Prompto walked around with the the tea pot. “Thank you Prompto. You are on Eos and while there are many countries the one you are in right now is Lucis, we have been at war with Niflheim for many years. Seven years ago, during what was supposed to be the signing of a peace treaty, they betrayed us. We lost our King and the crystal that protected us. The three of us plus the Crown Prince were on our way to meet the Prince’s finance when the Crown city, Insomnia fell. Through many battles we lost Lady Lunefreya. Then Prince Noctis was transported inside the crystal. We’ve been fighting ever since, waiting his return and the end of the daemons and the star scourge that plagues our planet.”

“Alright, I can live with that.” Mustang was trying to figure out how he and Hawkeye had been pulled into this universe. “So we’re not in Central any more. How about that place where you found us? Is there any reason or indication as to why we should be pulled there? Hawkeye what’s the last thing you remember?”

Hawkeye, handed her dishes to the large tattooed man and sat forward, “thanks. We were in the basement under Command. Father, Hohenheim, and Al had gone back to the surface. Ed was still fighting the homunculi and Izumi stopped just below the main level to get off and rejoin her husband.” She stood up to pace, it unnerved her that there were no guards, no sentries with those creatures out there. She was itching for her sniper rifle. “Major Armstrong jumped on with Prince Ling or Greed. We had barely convinced General Armstrong to remain below. Major Armstrong used his alchemy to start us rising again. We were between floors, and it was dark. I grabbed you so I wouldn’t loose you again. There was a flash of light. I assumed it was the battle above, then we in that cavern with those creatures rushing us.” She turned to look at the others. The Colonel was sitting as if at his desk listening to her give a report. The more formally dressed blonde, Ignis, looked like a carbon copy of the Colonel. He appeared to be listening to every word she said waiting to pick her report apart. Prompto, the more active blonde, reminded her of a combination of Ed and Al. He was sitting in his camp chair fiddling with a camera. The last man Gladio, was at the camp table with all the dishes he had collected, cleaning up.

“Alchemy. Hmm, I wonder if that’s similar to you elemancy? What do you think Iggy?” Gladio looked over at his shoulder at his best friend. “Colonel Mustang it seems that you need to clap your hands together before you snap your fingers to direct the fire. I don’t detect any other element or addition to it. Just flame.”

“That’s my specialty, flame alchemy. I only use fire. What is elemany?” Mustang was intrigued now. 

“This way,” Ignis stood and gave the duo a small tour to three elemancy stones that were always found near havens. “Those that have an affinity for magic, gather the power from the three stones, fire, ice and lightening and we store it in special vials. If you are proficient enough you can combine different ratios of elements and add in other items to increase their power. I can use it, but it is a rare gift.”

Roy could feel the power put out by the stones but wasn’t able to touch them. “I see, damn but I wish Ed was here. That boy has a mind like nothing I’ve ever know and he’d be fascinated to learn about this. Alchemy uses the chi or flow of the planet. The main principle we live by is that of equivalent exchange. We use the different symbols to help us communicate our intention and with the chi of the planet change one thing into another. We can’t bring the dead back to life or change lead to gold, but we can do other things. I can rearrange the air to create fire. It doesn’t change anything just moving molecules from one place to another.” The planet’s chi was unfamiliar but it wasn’t fighting him so he was still able to access his alchemy without issue.

“What I wouldn’t give to be able to see that.” Ignis crossed one leg over the other, as he pushed his glasses up.

“I can show you.” Roy was hoping these men might help them get home.

“It wouldn’t be of much use I’m afraid. An old injury has taken my sight.” 

“So it seems we have that in common too.” Roy smirked, “I have recently lost my sight and am still coming to terms with it. You get around wonderfully and fight as if you can still see. If I may ask how long has it been?” He didn’t want to bring up bad memories, but he needed to know that his career wasn’t over.

“Seven years now. This is actually the first time in about four years that I’ve traveled with these two for all that they’re my best friends and most trusted comrades. There are so few hunters that we can’t afford to hunt in groups but go out alone.”

“Amazing, I may not be as useless as I fear.” His comment was whispered but both Riza and Ignis had heard him.

“Excuse me sir,” Hawkeye moved off to edge of the campsite. What the hell had she done? All the comments from her and the team about how useless the Colonel was, it had started with Brigadier General Hughes as a way to keep Mustang’s ego in check. He had roped her into it and she had recruited Breda and Havoc to give her a hand and they continued from there. They had never stopped to check and see if his ego had still need to be reigned in or not. Now it seems that they had done more damage then good with it. “Son of a bitch.” She went to punch the rock in front of her when her hand was stopped. Whirling on instinct, she drew her weapon and had it pointed at Gladio’s head.

“Why don’t we take a little walk so you can blow off some of that steam? We won’t go far, it would be too dangerous and stupid, but there’s a small flat area just at the base of the Haven that I used use to train the Prince.” Gladio turned towards the fire, “Iggy, Ms Riza and I are going to the base of the Haven. Prompto?”

“I got ya big guy, stay here and don’t do anything stupid.” Prompto snapped a couple of pics as the two walked away.

“Where are they going? Is it safe?” Mustang was suddenly worried.

Prompto rushed to reassure him, “hey, don’t worry. Gladio’s cool. The base of the Haven is literally just feet away. It’s where Gladio used to drag Prince Noctis and I out to train. Honestly she’s safe with him. Gladio’s job title is literally the King’s Shield.”

Down below Gladio lead Riza to the training area. “Do you want to do some training first or talk?” He’d give her the option, but because he recognized the warrior in her he was fairly certain that she choose to do some training. 

“Can you fight hand to hand or do you only use that fancy sword?” Riza cracked her neck from side to side.

Gladio smiled and set his sword off to the side, still well within reach. “Let’s go.” 

He moved first, starting slow to warm up. The two circled each other, throwing the odd punch testing each other out. It didn’t take long before they were both going all out. Gladio watched the moves she used, trying to see if there was something different in her training, something he could use. He was always looking for tricks and tips to pass on to the newer hunters. The longer he could keep the young ones alive the better chance they all had. “So can you toss flames like your friend?”

“No, not everyone can access alchemy.”

Gladio sat, leaning against the rock, “you have a couple of moves I just might steal to teach the others.”

Hawkeye sat beside the large man and leaned her head back. “I’ve failed him.”

“I don’t think so. I was born to be the Prince’s Shield. It’s a hereditary position. I knew the moment my father died,” he rubbed the eagle’s head on his chest, “the eagle’s eye opened at that moment. It also meant that King was in mortal danger. The group of us were out here on the road when it happened I couldn’t do anything about it. I had an eighteen year old Prince who had just became King, and there was both Ignis and I who had also lost family that day. We were a mess. Prompto’s family, well that’s was a shit show before we even left Insomnia. Iggy and I, we’d been with Noctis since we were in elementary school. Ignis worked as his tutor and I started out as a workout partner before graduating to regular guard then Shield when my training was sufficient. Through it all there boundaries we couldn’t cross. Both Iggy and went through phases where we resented Noctis, his position, our jobs, the restrictions. It went both ways. Noctis wasn’t the easiest guy to look after, even if he did have his reasons. I started calling him Princess back when he was twelve and really rebelling against everything. There had been some serious shit that had gone down, I wasn’t apart of it because my old man had sent me off to basic for training. When I came back we had a hard time meshing as a group. It wasn’t until Prompto that things turned around. He joined our group about high school and went to school with the Prince.” Gladio hadn’t talked about Noctis in so long. Everyone thought he was gone, that he had abandoned them. The only ones who held out hope were up in that Haven and Cor, and each of them had their own pain to deal with. He fished out his wallet and handed over one of the photos that Prompto had taken of the group after his battle with Gilgamesh when Cor had been with them.

“Did you ever stop calling him Princess?” Riza could pick out the three men easily. They had aged well. The two others, well the younger must be the Prince he was talking about.

“Nah, will likely call him that when he returns. Somewhere on our journey it changed from a complaint to an endearment. Half the time I use it just to get a reaction and half the time he reacts because I use it. It’s become a habit.”

“This is just a little different. When I first met Roy he was a young alchemist in search of learning all he could about flame alchemy. It was quite rare, something that my father had mastered. Through perseverance and that massive ego of his he convinced my father that he was the ONLY one who could learn it. I was enraptured by what he wanted for our country and so I followed him. When he joined the military, I wasn’t far behind. My ambition up to then had been to be a nurse, yet here I was not only signing up to join the military, but I became a sniper. The best damn sniper they had. If he was going to be on the front lines, then god damn it I was going to there to watch his back. His best friend at the time was a Maes Hughes. The man was brilliant, if not annoying when it came to talking about his girlfriend, then later his wife and child. Major, I mean Brigadier General Hughes knew how to handle people, to handle the Colonel’s ego. He talked me into it. It would be the two of us who would keep the Colonel in check to remind him that he was human, but because of the the Colonel’s ambitions we needed to be careful how we went about it. We couldn’t let the higher ups know that Mustang was looking at taking their job otherwise, well the Brigadier General wanted him safe.“

“Otherwise you would have put him at risk. You used a method that could be seen as insubordination. It’s a fine line to walk, but if he didn’t raise a fuss then how could someone else?” Gladio knew what it meant for a military man to jump from Major to Brigadier General. They had lost a good friend, and recently if she still had trouble with the rank change.

“Exactly, and most of the time it was only when he really was going overboard or hadn’t thought things through, like trying to use his alchemy in the rain.”

“That’s a problem?” Gladio didn’t see the issue but he still didn’t understand how it worked.

“The gloves aren’t for show, they’re necessary for his alchemy. They’re like the tip of a match and honestly just as useless if they get wet. Have you every tried lighting a wet match?”

The laugh boomed off the boulders. “Yeah I have.”

“Anyway. Brigadier General Hughes was transferred to a different section and it split the three of us up. The Colonel eventually gathered a team of trusted men. These guys. I mean.”

“I get it. We’ve got some friends that are like that for us.”

“Yeah I guess you must. Two of them have taken up the call to help me. We’re the ones with him all of the time, we see what he does, often times we can stop him before he lets some stupid assed idea fly out of mouth.”

“So talk to them, to him. Communication is a big thing especially if you still believe in what he stands for. He seems to really put a lot of faith in your opinion, so be honest. You said there were two members of your team that were backing you up.”

“Yeah Breda and Havoc.” Hawkeye looked over at the Shield, he was younger then her, but he seemed to have had a similar set of experiences. “Breda pretty much runs the office I’m sure he’ll help me think of something else to use, other then calling him useless. Havoc is our jack of all trades. He’s another sniper, the Colonel’s driver and bodyguard although I’m not sure he knows that. I rely on him to help keep the Colonel out of trouble in public.”

“So really there’s three of you working together, with a larger group for support. Not all that different then our group.”

“I guess,” Hawkeye didn’t know if their larger support group were as close as the rest of the team but the idea was similar. 

“When did your Colonel loose his eyesight?” At the sharp look from Hawkeye, Gladio just shrugged, “Prompto said that he couldn’t see in the dungeons, and he mentioned it just before we came down here.”

“Oh, right.” She’d forgotten about that, “well if we assume that we haven’t lost any time in this dimension jump then maybe an hour or two ago,” she rubbed her hand across her neck. The memory of the knife slicing into her throat wasn’t one she was going to forget any time soon. 

“Shit, so neither of you have really had time to process. I have to say the directions you were giving him, man I wish I had thought of that when Iggy’s lost his sight.” Gladio stretched out his legs, and folded both arms behind his head.

“Wait, Ignis can’t see? Anything?” Riza was floored.

Gladio grinned, “he says he can detect light and dark, but that’s it.”

“What happened?”

“Man, it was a hellish year. It was after the fall of the Crown city and the deaths of our fathers. We’re trying to outrun the Niflheim empire and find Lady Lunefreya, Noct’s fiancé. We were in Altissa, Lady Lunefreya had made a pact with the Leviathan to help Noctis as the one true king. When she was killed right in front of Noct. The four of us had been separated. Iggy’s got there first when he used the ring of Lucii. It took his sight as payment. We got out of there but the cost was high. We had to continue on to get the crystal back and get rid of this fucking scourge, pardon the language.”

Riza shrugged, but remained quiet letting the Shield talk. She had no idea what he meant by Leviathan and could only hope he wasn’t talking about some mythical monster. As for a magical ring taking a person’s sight, she guessed it wasn’t all that different then the use fo the philosophers stone.

“We holed up for a bit to lick our wounds. Noctis reverted to being a spoiled child. I know now that he was hoping that things could go back to normal, too many things had changed in too short of a time frame and he wasn’t handling it well. He’d lost his father, my father and Iggy’s uncle both of whom were like family. There were a lot of guards and castle retainers that we know would have fought to their deaths that were gone. People he considered friends. His home was gone and now the people were placing their hopes on him. Luna had just been killed and Ignis was being all stoic and ‘it’s a small sacrifice for the greater good’, that’s a lot of weight for an eighteen year old to carry. Then there was the prophecy of being the one true king and his concern of whether or not he could do it. I could have been more understanding, but I was a hard ass on him. Ignis stepped up and tried to keep things as normal as possible. He’d been our cook before, whenever we camped out. Prompto was the one to take over, he became Iggy’s eyes without babying him. Unfortunately we didn’t have the opportunity to relax. Fighting went on, Ignis trained himself to fight by using his other senses. He also expanded his elemancy, that at least hit a broader area.” Gladio got lost in his memories, “we were heading north. Ardyn, the bastard, used deceit, magic, something; anyway he confused Noctis enough that the brat fought Prompto. We’re on a train with a bunch of refugees in the middle of a blasted ice field and Noctis calls down that he pushed Prompto from the train, that Ardyn tricked him. We were able to track the kid down, but the enemy had held him for a time and it wasn’t pretty. That’s about the time we all got our heads out of our asses and really started to work together. We were just starting to gel when Noctis was sucked into the crystal. Ignis told us what the prophecy of the one true king is, so the three of us have been trying to come to grips with it, but I have to say fate sucks. After loosing Noctis, the three of us stuck together for a year or two but the need was too great. Every once in a while we team up as a duo here or there and we stay in contact with each other. Prompto sends jokes and photos every day. This is the first time the three of us have together in four years. We all came at that dungeon from different directions, drawn there. Hell I had been half way across the country when I knew that I needed to get back here. I guess inside we were hoping it meant that Noctis was returning.”

“Sorry about that.”

“Nah, this might be better. I miss those guys. I get reports from other hunters. Hell I’m pretty sure they do to. I know that there are guys that help both Ignis and Prompto out from time to time, that both of them have taken the time to pass on what they’ve learned to other hunters. Prompto is a plebe who became the Prince’s best friend. A photographer who is a crack shot. Not necessarily the brightest bulb, but he has a lot of common sense and damn good instincts.” Gladio took his photo back from Riza, his fingers tracing over their faces. “Ignis is so smart it scares me. I swear the man he a photographic memory. He’s most comfortable behind layers of formality, rules and regulations. He often comes across as cold and unfeeling, but he has the biggest heart. And Noct. Noctis.” His throat closed up he couldn’t continue without breaking down. His charge, his Prince, his friend was coming back to this world just to die. The past kings of Lucis had explained that to Ignis when he had put on the ring. When Ignis had had the chance to sit them down and explain it after Noctis had been pulled into he crystal, Gladio had wanted to go back and pull the brat back out. Noctis had been born to die, to be a sacrifice. It had pissed him off, now it just made him cry. Noctis had become so much more then a job. He had wanted to see the guy married and happy. He had wanted to be his Shield for many years, training Iris to be the next Shield, to guard any children that Noctis would have. He wanted the relationship he had seen between his father and King Regis. To know that Noctis wouldn’t live to see it was part of the reason it was so hard to stay with Ignis and Prompto.

“My father taught Mustang his flame alchemy and I prayed everyday that Mustang was worthy. I was standing at my father’s gravesite when Roy returned. He was a State alchemist then, part of the military that’s when I joined. We were in the middle of a war when Mustang hit his low point. I was there but Hughes was beside him. There was a civilian couple, doctors. They were Amestrian. They would give aid to whoever needed it. It didn’t matter which side they were on. One report is that one of their patients went a little crazy after waking up from surgery. All he saw was an Amestrian and he killed the couple. The other is that Mustang was ordered to go in and clear the clinic with extreme prejudice. The details have been swept under the rug you could say, but I’m pretty sure that truth is combination of the two. During the war, the Colonel used his flame alchemy to burn villages down. Most of the time they were still occupied. Fire doesn’t discriminate. Those that tried to escape were kept in by sniper fire. Hughes was the one that pulled a handgun out Mustang’s hand. He’s the one to push Roy back towards his goal to make things better. Aim higher. Change the system from within.” The pain that filled her eyes told Gladio that she held herself just as responsible. “My father had the secrets to his alchemy tattooed on my back. After seeing what the Colonel was forced to do, what I was party to, I had him burn it off.”

“Fuck, the precision required.” Gladio was amazed, to trust someone who had just burned villages to then take just the top couple of layers of skin off. He knew it was her way of letting the Colonel know she trusted him with the fire. 

“It was a test for both of us. Could I trust him to destroy something that no one else should have control over, and could he use his fire again. I’ve been at his side ever since. We both have regrets from Ishval, but we’re military and have to follow orders just like everyone else. A couple of years ago we received word that there were a couple of kids looking for a man named Van Hohenheim. He’s an alchemist of legend. Roy went out to check out just who these kids were and why they were searching for him. He was going to put the fear of god into them. Don’t touch alchemy until your older, that type of thing. Instead we arrived at this small town, no doctor just an automechanic. Inside was this kid. Christ, Ed was barely eleven. He had tried human transmutation to bring back his mother. That failed and the cost had been his younger brother’s body, so he had done some other alchemy to bring back Al’s soul and bonded it to a suit of armor. The cost was literally an arm and a leg. When we got there they had just finished mopping up the blood, literally. Ed was in a wheelchair and the look in his eye said that he wasn’t going to give up. The Colonel told to come and look him up when he healed enough. The next year we had a twelve year old genius, with two automail limbs, and a brother who shouldn’t exist working for the military, directly under Mustang’s command.”

“Human Transmutation? Automail?” Gladio was trying to understand the terms, but a couple were just too unusual.

Riza gave a little laugh. Yeah, he likely wouldn’t understand. “So human transmutation is the act of using alchemy to bring the dead back to life. It’s illegal and doesn’t work. Every time someone tries it something is taken from them. In Ed’s case it was either his arm or his leg, I’m not sure. Al lost his entire physical body. Ed went after him and made another deal, the other missing limb for his brother. All he was able to retrieve was Al’s soul. He bonded his brother’s soul to this suit of armor. So now we have this seven foot sentient suit of armor that hold the consciousness of an eleven year old genius alchemist, because Alphonse is almost as smart as his brother and just about as good. Do you guys have robots? Mechanics?” She hadn’t seen any modes of transportation and their weapons were fairly simple, swords and daggers, although Prompto had a handgun. 

“Yeah, we do.” He wasn’t going to get into magitek and Niflheim’s experiments.

“Okay, automail is what we call robotic prosthetics, the automail mechanics create limbs that are joined to the person’s body and uses their own nerves to help control movement. It’s an extremely painful and long surgery just to implant the socket. The number of time Ed’s had to have things repaired or changed.” Hawkeye wished she carried a photo like Gladio did. Maybe she’d get the group together and get one done when they returned. “To make matters worse, the couple that were killed back in Ishval, the doctors, are part of the family that did the automail on Ed. They had left behind a daughter.” Hawkeye remembered having a talk with Winry about choices made when you were part of the military. “With Ed under his command, the Colonel now had the responsibility of sending a child out into hot zones. Could he have passed Ed onto another commander, yes. I also know what those other commanders would have had Ed and Al do, and those boys wouldn’t have survived. So Mustang sends them in, let them work their form of magic on the people, and expands their reputation. Then he goes in after and cleans up, doing the dirty work behind their backs. Ed found out last year. It wasn’t a pretty confrontation. Ed’s not quite nor is he calm and rationale. To find out that for five years he and his brother had been used as a poster child of goodness and light. I don’t know what pissed Ed off more, the fact that he had been kept in the dark, he didn’t see it for himself, or that they had to have the military come in and do some clean up afterwards.”

“He was protecting him from the worst. I’m part of the Royal Crownsguard. I know what we’ve been asked to do in the name of the Crown and there’s also the Kingsglaive, they’re on the front lines in a different way from us. There is no way I’d let a twelve year old see that. Hell if I could I would have protected each of those men from dealing with the daemons we do now let only years ago.”

****

Up in the campsite, Ignis and Roy sat closer together. Prompto moved off to the edge, with Gladio and the Hawkeye lady talking below he was the first line of defense. He sat there quietly wanting to give the men a chance to talk, but he was also going to watch Iggy back. Hell if this Mustang guy really was blind, and it was looking like he was, then he’d just play guard for him too.

Roy wanted to learn how to move as confidently as the other man. “How long ago did you loose you sight?”

“Almost seven years now.” Ignis rubbed at his left hand. “It was at the same time that we lost Prince Noctis to the Crystal. I didn’t have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines. I have the knowledge to fight these daemons and I will.”

“Right now I don’t know how I will fight without having Hawkeye by my side. I need her to give me the directions to fight. I’m sure can do the rest of the job alright. I have my team and they are the best. Are you the familiar with the game chess?”

“The strategic board game? Yes, I play chess.”

“I learned to play when I was a child. It was my foster mother who bought me my first set. I hollowed out the two kings. At the time it was to hide money, but as the years went on I used it to pass messages to Hughes, my best friend when we were stationed apart. We used the Chess board to plan our strategies both current and far reaching ones. I gifted a similar set to Hawkeye’s grandfather, General Grumman, as he help similar views as I on the state of our government. For the longest time I only had Riza and Maes by my side, but when I was able I surrounded myself with men who supported me they became my chess pieces. Hughes once joked that if I was going to try for the position of Furher, that I should see myself as a King. If that was the case then those I surrounded myself with were also chess pieces. Kain Fuery is most definitely my pawn. He’s the one that does the grunt work and I’m not even talking about rank. He’s inconspicuous and get across the field before almost anyone can see him. For my knight I have Jean Havoc my sniper the man who appears out of nowhere. He’s often underrated and under appreciated which is why he is so successful. Vato Falman is by bishop, the man who everyone confides in and can slide into place without thought. My rook, is Breda. One of the strongest players on the boards. I use him to bounce ideas of off. The last chess piece is my queen. Hawkeye. It’s not a romantic, but she is the strongest piece I have and the one I rely on the most. Between her and Breda they help keep me in line and make sure that I stick to the plan.” He gave at royal advisor one of his Roy Mustang grins. Ignis may not have been able to see it but Prompto could and he snapped a photo. “I have told Riza multiple times that if I ever go off the rails she has my permission to shoot me.”

Ignis was impressed, “it sounds like you have a wonderful team there. I assume that the directions she was giving you were to aid in your alchemy?”

“We treat it like sniping. It’s a way to make sure that I don’t miss and let something slip pass us to stab us in the back later.”

“Very smart.”

The sound of a alarm was loud in the silence. “Hey sorry guys.” Prompto stood and walked to the edge of the Haven, “Gladio, time to wrap it up man.” He yelled out into the darkness.

“What’s going on?” Roy was thoroughly confused. Gladio and Hawkeye made it back to the camp quickly.

“Oh well since the loss of the crystal and the rise of the darkness we’ve tried to keep to a schedule of sort. Otherwise we found that people would either over sleep or not sleep at all.” Prompto’s explanation made sense. Roy made to of it. He could easily see himself losing track of time and working over time without something to ground him. “We only have the one tent and three sleeping bags though. I mean it doesn’t get overly cold out here, we can unzip the sleeping bags and if we all lie down.” Prompto was turning a lovely shade of red.  
“It’s amazing how quickly you get embarrassed still Prompto.” Gladio ribbed the blonde.

“It’s alright Prompto,” Riza tried to reassure the guy, “I’m the only female on my team at home as well.”

“And you manage to turn half of them into bumbling idiots as well.” Roy joked,” Of course it would have something to do with the way they are scared shitless of you retaliating if they ever did anything.”

“Poor Kain just needs to relax and Jean, well, him I’d shoot.” Riza voice was so deadpanned that Prompto wasn’t sure if she was serious or not.

Gladio’s laugh echoed off the rocks, “man you sound way too much like Iggy right now. Come on, everyone in the tent. The fire is banked for the night and I’ll check on it off and on so don’t worry if you hear me get up. Now I know that you’re worried there Hawkeye but the symbols on the edge of the Haven block out all daemons so we truly are safe here. The chances of any other hunters coming out this way are slim. The symbols changed when entered the Haven. If another group of Hunters wants access, protocol is for them to announce themselves. It’s for their safety. If you’d feel better you can choose the sleeping position for yourself and the Colonel.”

“Thanks Gladio.” At least someone understood her form of paranoia. “Well if you guys say it’s bedtime then I guess we better turn in sir.”

Morning brought just slight dimming of the darkness. If Riza wasn’t aware of the fact that she had slept for seven hours she would swear it was still the middle of the night. “Good morning,” she approached Ignis at the camp stove.

“Morning. Did you sleep well?”

“Yes, you weren’t kidding when you said the world was consumed by darkness.” She watched as the blind man cut up vegetables and mixed them together with eggs to make an omelet of sorts.

“Yes, it can be disconcerting at first. There’s tea, then we should decide what to do for the day.”

Gladio crawled out of the tent followed by the Colonel and Prompto. “Mmmm I smell breakfast Iggy.”

“Yeah, smells great.” Prompto automatically reached down for Mustangs hand to place it on his own arm leading him to the camp chairs. 

Riza could tell from those few seconds that when Ignis first lost his sight that it was Prompto who had become his eyes. “We need a plan sir. We need to get back to the fight and make sure that Father doesn’t win and that there is still an Amestris.”

Roy cocked his head to the side and gave her one his patterned smiles, “if you think Fullmetal will fail, I’m going to tell him you called him short.”

“You do that sir and I just might end up shooting you.”

“Ooh, savage.” Prompto loved listening to these two, it was reminded him so much of the comments that the four of them would make when he would complain about walking and Noct would tell him to run, or Ignis’ comments on Gladio’s reading material and Gladio bugging him about his crush on Cindy. He had to look away otherwise he’d break down and damn it he’d done enough crying over the last seven years, he didn’t need Ignis and Gladio to know that he was barely hanging on. Maybe it was because he was the one looking off into the distance, but he spotted something out of the ordinary. 

Morning or not there were chores to do. The camp was prepped for later that night, weapons were cleaned and reloaded. 

Mustang told the story of Father and Homunculi and what they were trying to do to right their country.

Prompto explained that he was actually part foreign tech and how the enemy had tried to turn him against his friends. “When will they learn, a guy never turns on his friends.”

Gladio put him in a headlock, “well at least not you, you’re too damn stubborn.”

Prompto’s grin was blinding, “you got that right. Hey, guys what’s that?”

The flare of light off in the distance was definitely something new. “It’s a pillar of light.”

“Which way is north?” With no familiar stars or the sun Hawkeye was a little unsure of her bearings. Gladio pointed off to the left as he attempted to describe what he was seeing. His description augmented by phrases from Prompto. “Quiet. Both of you. Honestly how can you expect anyone to get an accurate description from a description like that.” She just shook her head as she straighten her head. “It looks to be a giant pillar of light about half a mile away from here due west. From here the light appears to be about forty feet in diameter with the light coming from he ground and going up rather then the other way around. The light has a man made feel to it, it’s blue in colour and for some reason I want to get there. It reminds me of Ed’s alchemy.”

“Right, then let’s go. It’s a good thing everything’s is cleaned and put away.” Ignis grabbed his pack and threw it over his shoulder, “and before you say anything we’ll go along to check it out in case it’s something else. If it is a way home for you then at least we can watch you backs until you leave. If not then you have someone else to give you a hand agains the daemons that light is sure to have attracted. Now lets get going in case it disappears.”

The run across the expanse didn’t feel as exhausting with others there. Hawkeye tossed out directions along the way and Mustang snapped his fingers to send his fire off to destroy the minor daemons in their way.

“Colonel the symbols are definitely alchemy.” 

“Well that’s good to know, because I sure as shit don’t understand any of the symbols around the edges.” Gladio was walking the edge of the circle.

Roy flung his hands out. “Stay back. Don’t cross the line. Hawkeye what do you think?”

“If it’s a portal we need to jump and do it together. I don’t know where we’ll land, but we can’t stay here.”

“I agree.” Mustang turned the trio who had welcomed them. Had it only been last night? “Thanks for everything. We’ve got to try this and see where we end up. I hope you Prince returns and your planet survives.”

“He will, he has never let us down yet. Just like you won’t let your team down.” Ignis’ words gave him strength.

“Now go and kick that bastards ass.” Gladio gave them a salute and Prompto winked at the duo.

“Colonel?” Hawkeye stood there waiting orders.

“Lead the way Hawkeye,” Roy pulled his gloves on tighter ready to fire at a moments notice before being pulled into the circle.

The light flared blinding the trio, even Ignis shielded his eyes. 

“FUCK.” Gladio pushed the other two to the ground, covering them with his body.

“Really Gladio was strictly necessary?”

The laugh verging on the edge of hysteria, “I don’t know if I would use the phrase necessary.” He rolled over onto his back to look up at the darkened sky. He half expected to see white clouds or bright stars, but there was still darkness.

“They’re gone aren’t they?” Ignis pushed himself to a sitting position.

“Yeah, and so is the light.” Prompto checked around them, they were safe for the moment. “I hope that really sent them home.” He didn’t need to look a the others to know that they felt the same. Just like he knew that by tomorrow they would be going their separate ways again, at lest until Noctis came home for good.


End file.
